After nearly two months, the social media accounts of some of the farm union leaders were restored yesterday night.
Confirming the development, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non- Political) spokesperson Mahesh Choudhary said the accounts were withheld in two rounds.
“Currently we do not have the exact number, but we have been told that the accounts withheld in the first round were restored last night, while the remaining accounts withheld in the second round are still withheld. We have demanded immediate restoration of all withheld accounts,” said Choudhary.
After the social media accounts of farm leaders, mainly those protesting at Shambhu and Khanauri borders, were temporarily blocked, the SKM had claimed that the government had ordered temporary blocking of over 177 social media accounts and web links that were related to the farmers’ protest.
The Central Government had held two rounds of meetings with social media companies. The first round was held on February 8 and 9 and the second round on February 19, claimed Choudhary.
He said in the first phase, some accounts of farmers were withheld on February 10 while the remaining accounts were withheld on February 20.
Links and accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and some other social media platforms were blocked.
The 2024 Indian farmers’ protest is the second round of continuous protests and road blockades initiated by farmers in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana on 13 February 2024. The primary requests of the protests include securing legal assurance for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops and complete forgiveness of loans for all farmers.
In 2021, farmers protested against these laws. Over 200 farmers’ organizations joined the protest. On November 19, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that the centre had chosen to revoke the three agriculture laws passed by Parliament in the year 2020.
The farmers are protesting once more, alleging that the government has failed to fulfill the promises made in 2020–2021. They also blame the government for not attempting to double their incomes. Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) organized a statewide rural and industrial strike to show displeasure with the government.
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